New Year’s Eve!
All the concubines were preparing early, and not only that, Prince Qing and his family were also invited to the palace.
Many officials also had this honor and brought their families into the palace to attend the palace banquet.
The emperor was surrounded by concubines, and although Prince Qing was physically disabled, he had a large family, and brought all his legitimate sons and daughters, as well as his illegitimate sons and daughters, into the palace.
The concubines who had given birth to children also entered the palace.
The emperor looked at her with envy, but now he also had a child, so he held Rong Xi's hand tighter.
There was no queen in the palace, so the empress dowager sat on the left side of the emperor. In previous years, the right side would have been empty and no one would sit there, but this year Rong Xi sat there, and very close to the emperor.
People who don't know Rong Xi's situation naturally think that she is just a favored concubine.
But they didn't expect that the Queen Mother also agreed. Not only that, she was always checking the situation over there and looking at everyone with a smile on her face.
After everyone was present, the emperor, as in previous years, made a few representative remarks before the ceremony officially began.
Prince Qing also paid attention to the woman around the emperor. He heard that the emperor had been bewitched by a woman recently. This woman was extremely beautiful and graceful. He wanted to come and see what this woman looked like today.
Looking at it this way, she is indeed beautiful, but she looks a bit stiff.
He whispered something to the servant beside him, and after seeing the servant nod, he left. When he came back, two wet nurses were following him, each holding a child in her arms.
He walked to the center of the hall with two wet nurses and said, "Brother Your Majesty, these are my two new sons. I haven't let you meet them yet. I'd like to take advantage of this palace banquet to let Your Majesty see them."
The emperor's face immediately turned cold. Prince Qing did this every year. He was just relying on the fact that he had a child and was acting so unscrupulously.
"reward!"
"Thank you, my Royal Brother. I wonder if these two children will be blessed enough to have you give them names."
Rong Xi has been with the emperor for such a long time, but he has never seen the emperor like this. He is obviously very angry and unwilling, but he still forces a smile.
The emperor felt sorry for her, and she didn't want to see the emperor like this, so when the palace maid put the fish in front of her, she pretended to spit it out.
The emperor was already worried about her, and seeing that she didn't even have time to answer Prince Qing, he called the imperial physician to come up and take Rong Xi's pulse.
The imperial physician had been waiting nearby. This kind of banquet was the place where problems were most likely to occur. As soon as he heard that something had happened to Concubine Chun, he hurried over.
"Doctor Wen, how is Concubine Chun?"
"Your Majesty, Concubine Chun is fine."
"Then why is she vomiting?"
"Your Majesty, Concubine Chun is suffering from morning sickness. Perhaps it's because of the strong fishy smell on the table that Concubine Chun is suffering from this."
Doctor Wen's words shocked everyone present.
They felt like there was something wrong with their ears. Chunpin was vomiting during the morning, which meant she was pregnant. How could this be possible? Didn't the emperor forbid women from getting pregnant? Could this child be...
Their first thought was whether Concubine Chun had an affair with a palace maid, and that the child might not be His Majesty's.
The emperor naturally saw through their thoughts. He didn't care about the concubines or Prince Qing's family.
Rong Xi's pregnancy is already stable. The reason why Doctor Wen said it today was because they had discussed it in advance.
Otherwise, no matter how courageous he was, he would not dare to so rashly reveal the fact that Concubine Chun was pregnant.
Although everyone was surprised, they quickly reacted and reported the good news to the emperor.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. Now that Concubine Chun is pregnant, this is a great joyous event."
The emperor had been holding back for several months and was finally able to share this joy with everyone. He couldn't suppress the joy on his face.
"No need to be polite, everyone, please stand up! Please take a seat. Today is a family dinner, so there aren't many rules. Just eat and drink to your heart's content. Come, let's raise our glasses together and wish everyone here good health and well-being. Cheers!"
Following the command, everyone raised their glasses and drank it all.
The singing and dancing soon continued, and the two children who were to be named were also taken away.
Prince Qing drank to drown his sorrows. He had already decided which of his sons would be sent to the palace in the future. If his son really became the crown prince, it would not be an exaggeration for him to become the emperor emeritus.
But at this time, a woman in the palace was pregnant, and all his plans were to come to nothing.
Concubine Li and Concubine Ning carefully prepared a dance, but no matter how hard they tried or how well they danced, it was of no avail because the emperor's eyes were never on them.
Instead, he focused all his attention on Jiang Rongxi. It's just a pregnancy, why is he acting so hypocritical?
The smell of wine and meat in the hall was too strong. Rong Xi felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave.
"Your Majesty, I want to go out for some fresh air."
"I'll accompany you."
"No need. There are so many princes and ministers here. I will be back soon."
It was freezing cold outside, and the emperor was indeed worried. He only agreed because he saw that she was indeed uncomfortable here, and he also sent several secret guards to protect her.
Not long after Rong Xi came out, he met Concubine Ning who had just finished her performance.
"Congratulations to Concubine Chun. You've been keeping such a big thing as your pregnancy a secret. This is such a happy event in the palace, and we only found out about it now."
Concubine Ning moved closer and closer, but was blocked by Gardenia when she was about to reach Rong Xi.
"My Lady Ning, my Lady is not feeling well. Please don't get so close."
"Bitch, how dare you block my way."
As he said that, he slapped her. Fortunately, Rong Xi was quick enough to pull Zhizi back, so she was not hit.
Rong Xi took a few steps forward with her not-very-obvious pregnant belly.
"Sister Ningpin, don't blame me for not reminding you. If you touch anyone around me, I will fight back."
"You, huh, you just rely on having something in your belly. If you didn't have anything in your belly, do you think His Majesty would care about you?"
"Sister, tell me why, I've only been with His Majesty for a short time and I'm already pregnant, but you've been with His Majesty for so many years and there's been no news at all."
"What do you mean?" She felt that Jiang Rongxi was humiliating her.
"What do you mean? If you are interested, you can come with me. I will let you know everything. I don't know if you dare."
At this moment, the sky had completely darkened. Concubine Ning was a little hesitant. This Concubine Chun was not someone to be trifled with. She was not afraid of anything else, but she was afraid that Concubine Chun would use the baby in her belly to frame her.
Rong Xi looked at the other person's nervous expression, seemed to understand something, and a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Then, her voice became gentle but firm.
"Don't worry, sister. I cherish the child in my belly very much and will never let anyone hurt him, let alone use him to frame you."
After saying this, she gently stroked her belly, her eyes filled with the tenderness of maternal love.
"Humph, who's afraid of you?"
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